Become a Fellow

How to apply

If you are an existing member of the IET, you can apply online via Career Manager. Alternatively, you can download the application pack below.

If you are not yet a member, please download your Fellow application pack by completing our online form.

It can take between 12 to 20 weeks to review your application - we will always let you know the outcome.

Please note: the application pack contains four .pdf files that will need to be downloaded separately.

Starting your application

The application process is straightforward but it’s worth making sure you’re fully prepared.

Why not speak to a Fellowship Advisor for the inside track on what to expect? 

• Identify your application criteria: take a look at our 'Criteria for Fellowship' document (included in your application pack) and decide which two or three of the nine you feel most correspond to your experience.
• Find two supporters: your supporters must be people of recognised repute who know you professionally and can vouch for the evidence you provide. This means one of them should be an IET Fellow or a Fellow of any Professional Engineering Institution, as defined by the Engineering Council.  If you are unable to find such a supporter, please describe how your supporters are of recognised repute. If you would like assistance finding an IET Fellow, you can email fellowship@theiet.org.
• Complete the application pack: make sure you read all the upfront information before you start. The interactive form (included in your application pack) will respond to the answers you give to only show the questions that are relevant to your application, and you’ll be able to send it to your supporter for review.
• Submit your pack: once your supporter has approved your application and completed the separate supporter form (included in your application pack), you can submit your application electronically (along with your organisation chart) for assessment. Don’t include CVs or certificates as these won’t be passed to the panel.
• Pay your application fee: as soon as we receive your application, we’ll send you an email confirmation. We’ll then send you a link to our secure payment page so you pay the fee.

What happens next?

Your pack will be reviewed by our Fellow assessment panel, made up of individuals who are Fellows, where they will evaluate it before making a recommendation to the chairman who will make the final decision.

There are four possible outcomes:

Election

We’ll send you an election pack with your official confirmation letter by post.

Interview

We may invite you to an interview to ask you some further questions.

Defer

We may ask you to reapply following a further period of work.

Decline

We will decline you if you don’t have enough experience for Fellowship.

What if you want to appeal?

We hope that you’ll trust our decision and take it in good faith, but if you do want to appeal against the decision, you can do so within three months of your decision letter. You’ll need to send your claim and evidence which shows a significant fault in how we’ve processed or handled your application, or, if you came for an interview, serious or exceptional, unanticipated, personal mitigating circumstances that caused you to underperform, to fellowshipappeal@theiet.org

We’ll send you an application appeal form to fill out, and you’ll need to pay an appeal fee which will be refunded if your appeal is upheld. The appeal fee for 2025 is £182.